<p>Do private schools have a lower or higher hand at getting into ivy leagues such as Brown University or do public schools do? Or are the two the same? I am currently in a public school and the private school I looked at seems pretty nice (campus, area,etc.).</p>
<p>this is something that can never be answered easily. In certain areas, the quality of learning at private schools is leaps and bounds ahead of public ones, whereas in other areas, private schools are ways to buy As. It's harder to stand out at a private school. Take me for example, a 1540 (out of 1600) is not that impressive when your class' average is 1490. On the other hand, the smaller, closer enviornment at a private school usually leads to better guidance and recommendations, whereas public schools may have more extracurricular opprotunities.</p>
<p>I would concur that this question is difficult to answer. </p>
<p>I've heard that admissions officers are assigned to particular geographical regions, and that one admissions officer reviews applications from the top boarding schools, which means that the competition is among the students from those schools. I went to Andover, and the competition is pretty fierce. However, Brown did take a large amount from us my year (I think about 30-40, out of about 200 applicants (from a class of about 350), were accepted and about 20 matriculated). </p>
<p>Schools like Andover have very influential college counselors with close relationships with the admission offices at the top colleges, which has both advantages and disadvantages. My sense is that the college counseling office at Andover roughly chooses where it thinks the students in each class should go and makes recommendations accordingly. Of course there are exceptions. I know several classmates who were told they probably wouldn't get into certain schools, but they did. As for me, my college counselor was pretty much right on. She said she thought Brown would be best for me, and I got in. </p>
<p>Several of my friends, however, felt that they would have gotten into better schools had they stayed at their respective public schools where they were the top students. I think there's some truth to that. </p>
<p>In the end, I wouldn't go to private school just to increase your chances for college admission. It won't necessarily. I would go only if you think that a particular private school will offer you a great education, which will better prepare you for college itself as well as for life afterwards. Think in terms of what you'll do AFTER admission, rather than about admission itself.</p>